UN General Assembly Resolutions:
Resolution 54/76

(December 6, 1999)

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the
United Nations,

Guided also by the principles of international humanitarian
law, in particular the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection
of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,1/ as
well as international standards of human rights, in particular the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights 2/ and the International
Covenants on Human Rights,3/

Recalling its relevant resolutions, including resolution 2443
(XXIII) of 19 December 1968, and relevant resolutions of the
Commission on Human Rights,

Recalling also relevant resolutions of the Security Council,

Aware of the lasting impact of the uprising (intifada)
of the Palestinian people,

Having considered the reports of the Special Committee to
Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the
Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories 4/
and the relevant reports of the Secretary-General,5/

Recalling the signing of the Declaration of Principles on
Interim Self-Government Arrangements by the Government of the State
of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington,
D.C., on 13 September 1993,6/ as well as the subsequent
implementation agreements, including the Israeli-Palestinian Interim
Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip signed in Washington,
D.C., on 28 September 1995,7/ and the recent signing of the
Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum on 4 September 1999,

Expressing the hope that, with the progress of the peace
process, the Israeli occupation will be brought to an end and
therefore violation of the human rights of the Palestinian people
will cease,

1. Commends the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli
Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and
Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories for its efforts in performing
the tasks assigned to it by the General Assembly and for its
impartiality;

2. Demands that Israel cooperate with the Special Committee in
implementing its mandate;

3. Deplores those policies and practices of Israel which
violate the human rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of
the occupied territories, as reflected in the reports of the Special
Committee covering the reporting period;4

4. Expresses concern about the situation in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, as a result of Israeli
practices and measures;

5. Requests the Special Committee, pending complete
termination of the Israeli occupation, to continue to investigate
Israeli policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
including Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied by Israel
since 1967, especially Israeli lack of compliance with the provisions
of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian
Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,1 to consult, as
appropriate, with the International Committee of the Red Cross
according to its regulations in order to ensure that the welfare and
human rights of the peoples of the occupied territories are
safeguarded, and to report to the Secretary-General as soon as
possible and whenever the need arises thereafter;

6. Also requests the Special Committee to submit regularly to
the Secretary-General periodic reports on the current situation in
the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem;

7. Further requests the Special Committee to continue to
investigate the treatment of prisoners in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, including Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied
by Israel since 1967;

8. Requests the Secretary-General:

(a) To provide the Special Committee with all necessary
facilities, including those required for its visits to the occupied
territories, so that it may investigate the Israeli policies and
practices referred to in the present resolution;

(b) To continue to make available such additional staff as may
be necessary to assist the Special Committee in the performance of
its tasks;

(c) To circulate regularly to Member States the periodic
reports mentioned in paragraph 6 above;

(d) To ensure the widest circulation of the reports of the
Special Committee and of information regarding its activities and
findings, by all means available, through the Department of Public
Information of the Secretariat and, where necessary, to reprint those
reports of the Special Committee that are no longer available;

(e) To report to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth
session on the tasks entrusted to him in the present resolution;

9. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its
fifty-fifth session the item entitled "Report of the Special
Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights
of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied
Territories."

71st plenary meeting6 December 1999

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1/ United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973.

2/ Resolution 217 A (III).

3/ Resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex4/ A/54/73 and Add.1 and A/54/325.

5/ A/54/181-185.

6/ A/48/486-S/26560, annex; see Official
Records of the Security Council, Forty-eighth Year, Supplement for
October, November and December 1993, document S/26560.

7/ A/51/889-S/1997/357, annex; see Official
Records of the Security Council, Fifty-second Year, Supplement for
April, May and June 1997, document S/1997/357.